I Can Go The Distance
by Hyperteenager24
Summary: Foggy, a son of the Gods was stolen as a baby and forced to live among mortals. Now a man, he needs to perform a rite of passage on Earth to prove himself worthy of living on Mount Olympus.
1. Chapter 1

"Franklin!" Hera scowled as her son grabbed at her hair, "Behave yourself, please."

Whilst his wife was displeased with their son's grabbing and generally annoying behaviour, Zeus was having the time of his life, wriggling his fingers in front of his son's face, watching as Franklin practically crossed his eyes trying to focus on them.

"Excuse me! One side! Coming through!"

Zeus turned, watching as a blur shot towards them, with Hermes proudly brandishing a large bouquet of flowers to Hera…. Who just sneered at them.

"Flowers, are you- "

"- They're lovely Hermes." Zeus quickly interrupted, taking the flowers, "Orphius?"

"Yeah, he did the arrangement? Isn't that just nutty?!" Hermes glanced around, not seeming to notice that Hera was glaring at him, "Great party! I haven't seen this much love in a room since Narcissus discovered himself!"

As the pair were talking, Franklin (who had been dumped in his cot… Hera was never fond of carrying for longer then necessary) leaned over and tried to grab a lightning bolt from Zeus's belt.

"Hey, don't touch that!"

Just before Hera's hand could impact harshly with Franklin's smaller hand, Zeus grabbed her wrist and pulled her in close.

"Not in front of our guests…" he hissed, before forcing a smile on his face, "… he'll be fine. Let the kid have a little fun."

Franklin was completely unaware of the tension between his parents, chewing happily on the end of the lightning bolt, until it gave him a bit of a nasty shock. Grimacing in disgust at the slightly burnt taste in his mouth, Franklin threw the lightning bolt away as hard as he could.

Batting it away with her sword, Athena rolled her eyes as the lightning bolt destroyed a column, watching as it quickly reformed.

"Your son has good aim…" she muttered, as Zeus chuckled warmly.

"On behalf of my son, I would like to thank you all for your wonderful gifts!" As the Gods cheered, Zeus turned to Hera, "I notice that you don't have a gift for him?"

"I gave birth to him. That's the only gift that matters."

Not willing to get into another argument with his wife, Zeus gently took Franklin into his arms and rocked him back and forth, "You're so tiny…" he whispered, chuckling as Franklin cooed in delight, reaching up to try and grab his Dad's beard, before playing with the pendant attached to his nightshirt.

After a couple minutes of contented silence, Franklin eventually yawned.

"Alright my little boy… time for bed."

"Before I can meet him?"

Zeus spun around, beaming at the sight of the shadow in the doorway, "Hades!"

Hades, carrying a son of his own, headed into the area, ignoring how Hera glared at him. "Sorry I'm late. I had a slight… problem on earth."

"No, no, no!" Zeus beamed, "At least you made it! How are things in the underworld? How's the Prince of Darkness?"

"Grumpy, but what's new about that." Hades accepted the one-armed hug he was pulled into, before heading over to the cot, his son still in his arms, "Look who it is kiddo… a new friend for you."

His son cooed in his arms, curious eyes focused on Franklin, who seemed just as curious.

"Oh, look at that…" Zeus whispered, "… I think they like each other."

The rest of the Gods cooed as well, all except for Hera, who rolled her eyes, "Yes, yes… how cute. Now, doesn't Lord Hades have something better to do, other than frolic about at parties? A full-time job perhaps?"

"He can't work all the time dear, he'll end up working himself to death…" Zeus sighed, resisting the urge to laugh at his unintentional joke, "… let him have some- "

"- No, no." Hades held up his hand, "I really should be getting back."

As he started to back away from the crib, Franklin whined, tiny arms reaching out for his new friend.

"I think we should start planning some sleep-overs." Zeus mused, glancing over at Hades, who was trying to keep a hold of his own squirming child.

"Yeah… I think you're right."

Nobody noticed the dark expression flashing across Hera's face.

…..

If there was one goddess you didn't want to get steamed up, it was Hera… because she had an evil plan.

A son and an heir stood in the way of all her plans, and she knew it.

Heading to her own private headquarters, she bellowed up the stairs.

"Pain! Panic!"

Two goblins scurried down the stairs towards her, crashing into each other halfway down, with the larger one on the bottom.

"Pain.. ow!"

"And Panic!"

"Reporting for duty!" "Reporting for duty!"

Hera rolled her eyes, "The Fates." She demanded, "Where are they?"

"C-Council-room!"

"Darling…" crooned a female voice, "… hold that mortal's thread of life nice and tight."

With a snip of the scissors, the thread was cut, and a scream echoed throughout the room.

"Another one for Hades." Another female voice sighed, the thread disappearing with a snap of her fingers, before they all turned to face Hera, only bowing when Hera rose an eyebrow at them

"My apologies for being late." She began, knowing that none of them would dare to interrupt her, "Childbirth can be such a time-consuming thing. You… women know everything there is to know about the past, present and future. So, I need to know if my darling son- "The words looked like they were painful to say, "- is going to get in the way of my plans for global domination?"

The women all glanced at one another.

"Strictly speaking Your Grace…" one of them nervously spoke up, "… we're not supposed to reveal the future."

Noticing the dangerous look on her face, they quickly backtracked.

"Unless it's you, of course, my Queen!"

With another deep bow, the sole eye that the women used, rose up into the air, turning into a white, glowing orb.

"In 18 years precisely, the planets will align ever so nicely."

Hera resisted the urge to interrupt, not wanting to break their concentration.

"The time to act will be at hand. Unleash the Titans, your monstrous band! Then the once-proud Zeus will finally fall… And you, Hera, will rule all!"

Hera allowed a victorious smirk to spread across her face, only for it to fall at the women's next words.

"But a word of caution to this tale..."

"Excuse me?"

"…. Should Franklin fight, you will fail."

The three Fates all cackled and vanished into thin air, the white orb quickly following on behind, disappearing with a pop.

"What?!" Hera hissed in anger, the lit torches flaring up slightly due to her anger, before she quickly calmed down and took several deep breaths, storming over to some large, ornate doors, closely followed by her minions.

"Pain… Panic, I have a little riddle for you. How do you kill a God?"

Pain frowned, "I do not know…"

"You can't!" Panic announced, "They're immortal!"

Hera let a rare chuckle, grabbing a small vial of pink liquid and holding it up. "Bingo… which means we need to turn my little baby… mortal."

…

Less than a month later, night was falling across Mount Olympus.

Franklin and Matthew were cuddled up to one another, both clutching on each other's night-wear, unaware of the shadows creeping across the walls of the room.

Nobody should have been able to get in… not without a key.

In the next room over, Zeus and Hera were startled awake by a loud crash and the crying of babies.

"Franklin!" Zeus cried out, leaping out of bed and running over to his son's room, completely missing his wife's smirk behind him. He threw open the door, only to gasp in shock. "No! No!"

He ran over to the over-turned cradle, lifting a shaking Matthew into his arms, wincing at the blood coming from the babies eyes, before scanning the room for his own son.

Nothing.

"FRANKLIN! FRANKLIN!"

….

Hearing the heart-broken roars shatter the night, Pain and Panic winced and quickened their steps.

"I can't believe we did this!" Panic groaned, "Zeus is going to use us for target practice when he catches us!"

"Shut up and run!"

The baby started to cry as they slipped into a nearby alleyway, causing the pair to panic slightly.

"Let's just get this over with!" Panic exclaimed, as Pain pulled the potion vial out of his bag and shoved it into Franklin's mouth.

"Come on kid…" he muttered as Franklin gulped it down greedily, "… get it down, quickly now."

The glow of Franklin's skin started to fade with every drop that he drank, prompting Panic to quiver in excitement. "Can we kill him now?"

"No, no, no! He has to drink it all! Every last drop!"

"Who's there?!"

The pair freaked out, dropping the potion vial and the baby, before disappearing into the shadows… missing the fact that one drop was still left in the vial, hanging onto the glass for a few moments before it dropped to the ground, quickly absorbed by the dirt.

Watching from the shadows, they saw a kindly looking woman emerge from around the corner, torch landing on Franklin instantly.

"Oh!" she gasped, "Oh you poor thing!" she cooed, lifting Franklin into her arms, searching for anybody nearby.

In the shadows, Panic glanced at Pain. "Now?"

"Now."

Together, the pair transformed themselves into snakes and slithered closer to where their target was.

"You poor thing… you must have been abandoned." the woman sighed, "I've prayed for a child of my own you know. Never met the right man though." She then turned her attention to the necklace that hung around the baby's neck. "Franklin?"

It was then that she noticed the shadows of the snakes on the wall of the alleyway.

The woman screamed as Pain and Panic dived in for the kill, however, the baby in her arms simply squealed in delight, grabbing the snakes and smacking their heads against the ground. Within seconds, they were stunned. Tying the snakes together, he swirled them around for a couple of seconds, before throwing them off into the distance.

As the snakes disappeared into the night sky, Franklin glanced back at the shocked woman and giggled.

…..

When they landed in a tree, quickly shifting out of their snake forms, Panic started to… well, panic.

"What are we going to do?!" he exclaimed, "Hera is going to kill us when she finds out!"

"You mean if she finds out!"

"What do you mean, I- "Panic paused, realisation dawning in his mind, "… If…. If is good."

…..

It was tragic.

Zeus led the Gods on a frantic search for his new-born son, but just as he thought he was getting somewhere, Hades and his own son disappeared.

They were never found.

Franklin was… but he was mortal now. However, since he did not drink the last drop, he still retained his God-like strength and the fire powers inherited from his Father.

Zeus was not ashamed to admit that he was destroyed by the news, retreating to his room to weep.

When he started spending less and less time on Mount Olympus, nobody was surprised.

Hera loved it. But even though her horrid plan took place before Franklin's first tooth, the baby grew stronger every day.

Which wasn't always a good thing.


	2. Chapter 2

"Foggy! Foggy, slow down son!"

Foggy Nelson wasn't listening as he continued to push the car down the road, ignoring how passers-by called out at him.

"Foggy!"

When they reached the market-place, Foggy managed to pull the car to a complete halt, beaming as his Father got out and started to chuckle, "You know, when I said push the car to bump-start it, I didn't mean push it all the way into town!"

Foggy beamed, laughing as his Dad pulled him into a one-armed hug.

"Now, you wait here for the tow-truck, and I'll get the shopping." Before he could head away, his Father turned to him and frowned, "Remember, stay here."

"I know, I know."

Foggy sighed as he watched his Father leave, leaning against the car. On the path, a group of students headed towards him, all with identical sneers on their faces.

"Hey Foggy, your Daddy leave you the butcher shop yet?"

Foggy rolled his eyes, "Original, really original."

They didn't seem to get the hint, almost starting to back him into the car.

"Why, why do you have to be like this." Foggy found himself sighing, "What is this going to prove?"

"It'll prove that you're a freak!"

"Oooo, how long did it take you to come up with that one?" Foggy rolled his eyes, only to wince as the young man only continued to advance on him, "Okay seriously, you don't want to do this? It's such an unfair fight!"

They continued to advance, and Foggy knew he had to get out of here.

"Guys, come on- "

CRACK

"AAHHH!"

The other man clutched his broken knuckles, glaring at Foggy who winced in sympathy.

"Oh don't try- "

When the man lunged again, Foggy pushed him away, only to yelp in surprise as the man went flying, smashing into a wall and falling unconscious.

"Shit." Foggy whispered, as the man's friends all backed away in fear, "Shit!"

Before anyone could say anything, he made a run for it.

…..

His Father found him hours later, sitting on a park bench, watching the sun setting in the distance.

"Son…" The man sighed wearily, "… you shouldn't let them get to you like that. We've managed to smooth it over for now but- "

"- You shouldn't do that." Foggy interrupted, not looking his Father in the eyes, "They're right… I am a freak. I've tried to fit in, but I can't!" He shook his head, "Sometimes I feel like…like I don't belong here… like I'm meant to be somewhere else."

"Franklin, I- "

"- I know, it doesn't make any sense."

Foggy stormed away, missing the worried look on his Father's face.

…

Hours later, after he'd wandered through the streets, staring up at the night sky, he made his way back home, only to find his Father waiting for him in the doorway.

"Foggy…" The man looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, "… there's something I've been meaning to-to tell you."

…..

"But if you found me, then where did I come from?"

Slowly, his Mother brought a box over from the mantelpiece, opening it up and pulling out a gold medallion, "This was around your neck when I found you… when I met your Dad, he told me it was Greek."

Foggy traced his fingers over his engraved name, turning it over and frowning at the symbol. "How did you know Dad?"

"… Call it a passing fancy."

"Well, this is it then." Foggy whispered, leaping to his feet, "Don't you see! There's a Greek section in the museum this month, I can visit and – " He stopped, turning around and wincing at the fond smile on his parent's faces, "- Mum, Dad… I'm sorry. You two are the best parents anyone could ever hope for but… I need to know where I came from."

"We know." His Dad whispered, "Which is why I'm taking you to the museum tomorrow."

….

The museum exhibit was just how he expected it to be.

History was never Foggy's strongest subject, but even he could admit that some aspects of history was fascinating, with Greek mythology being one of them.

"Alright, so what should we be looking for?"

Silence.

"Dad?

As he turned around, the wind started to pick up and swirl around the room, everyone else freezing in place.

And his Father was glowing.

"FOGGY… FRANKLIN."

Foggy yelped at the suddenly louder, deeper voice coming from his Father, stumbling backwards and falling to the ground.

"I KNOW THIS MUST COME AS A BIT OF A SHOCK TO YOU, BUT- "

"- A bit of a shock?!"

His Father winced, "SURPRISE?"

Silence.

"I KNOW I SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU SOONER…" His Father sighed, "… BUT- "

"So, you're my Father… my actual Father? Zeus? But that would make me a- "

"- A GOD."

"A God… A GOD!"

"YOU WANTED ANSWERS, AND BY MY BEARD, YOU ARE OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW THE TRUTH."

"So…. You're my Dad, but Mum isn't my Mum. Why? W-what happened? Didn't my other Mum want me?"

"I THINK SHE WAS JUST… NERVOUS. SHE WOULD HAVE GROWN INTO IT. BUT SOMEONE STOLE YOU FROM US BEFORE SHE WAS GIVEN THE CHANCE AND TURNED YOU MORTAL. ONLY GODS CAN LIVE ON MOUNT OLYMPUS, SO… I DECIDED TO KEEP AN EYE ON YOU."

"Sooo… you can't do anything about this mortality thing?"

"NO. BUT YOU CAN."

"Really?" Foggy couldn't deny it, he was excited by the prospect, "… What is it? I'll do anything!"

FRANKLIN…. FOGGY. IF YOU CAN PROVE YOURSELF TO BE A TRUE HERO ON EARTH, THEN YOUR GOD-HOOD WILL BE RESTORED.

"A hero…. And how do I do that exactly?"

FIND THE DEFENDERS, THE TRAINERS OF HEROS.

"Again. How do I do that?"

His Father smirked at this, before placing two fingers in his mouth and whistling sharply. There was a burst of light from above, before a gorgeous tanned, winged horse swept in from out of nowhere, doing several somersaults before landing next to Foggy.

"What the- "

"- MEET KAREN. SHE WAS GOING TO BE YOUR FAITHFUL COMPANION BEFORE… EVERYTHING."

Karen whinnied and nuzzled at Foggy, who couldn't help but smile in delight. "And… she's going to take me to the Defenders?"

When his Father nodded, Foggy nodded in determination. "Okay. Find the Defenders, become a true hero and then become a God…. Sounds easy."

"I HAVE EVERY FAITH IN YOU, MY SON."

"I won't let you down!"

He gently climbed on Karen's back, flying up into the air and staring down at his Dad, who beamed up at him.

"GOOD LUCK FOGGY."

A gust of wind sent them flying out of the museum, and Foggy couldn't help but whoop in delight.

"WAHOOOOO!"


	3. Chapter 3

Foggy was forever grateful that the Defenders operated in Hells Kitchen. He knew the area well, and exactly where they were likely to hang out.

Josies.

It was a dingy, dark bar that only the people who had been kicked out of every other bar went to…. Which is why it was Foggy usual haunt really. Super strength was never very popular in bar fights, even when someone else started them.

Managing to sneak past Josie, he headed into the back rooms of the bar, only to almost run into a blond, curly-haired man.

"Get back here Danny!" someone else called out for the back, even as the blond man skidded to a halt, frowning at the sight of Foggy.

"I don't think you can be back here." He frowned, "You're not a super-villain or anything are you?"

"No?"

"…. You don't sound very sure." The blond man tilted his head to the side, "Identity crisis?"

"No, no, no! I'm sure!" Foggy held up his hands in surrender, "I'm just looking for the Defenders!"

"That sounds like something a super-villain would say."

"I want to join them!"

The man frowned, "What?"

"I-I… need to join the Defenders."

"Why?"

Probably hearing the small commotion, others joined the blonde-haired man, making Foggy step back in alarm.

"Who's this?" A rather large, rather intimidating African American man asked.

"I didn't get his name, but apparently, he wants to join the team?"

Foggy nodded eagerly, trying not to appear like he'd wet his pants in fear.

"Why should we?" A taller, even scarier man asked, the skull on his t-shirt not helping his image, "What exactly can you do?"

"Alright, alright!" Foggy held up his hands, "I understand the scepticism." He led them out to the back, where a large truck sat. With one arm, he lifted it up into the air, throwing it up high as he could, catching it with ease as it came back down.

The dark-haired woman whistled lowly at the sight, "Looks like me and Luke might have some competition." She nudged the man in the yellow t-shirt, "So what happened to you?" The question was directed at Foggy, "Radiation? Soldier serum? Mutant?"

"Long story…" Foggy winced, "… it's more like, son of a god who was kidnapped and sent down to Earth to live as a mortal."

There was a moment of silence, before the blonde-haired man shrugged. "I can believe that. Thor exists, doesn't he?"

"Exactly!" Foggy sighed in relief, "So, can you help me?"

They all glanced at one another, before the woman stepped forwards. "Alright. Let's see what you've got."

…

It was a rough start, no-one was going to deny that.

A lot of targets were smashed during those first few weeks.

("You know, people tend to frown upon you smashing criminals like that"

"I'm sure people are sturdier than flimsy wooden boards… right?")

Rescuing the damsel in distress was… an interesting experience.

("Danny, why aren't I doing this with Jessica?"

"Because she would kill us if we even suggested it, now focus on saving me!")

All the rules started to get confusing after a while

("Rule number ninety-five! Concentr- AAH!"

"Sorry!"

"Rule number ninety-six! AIM!")

However, despite all the set-backs, Foggy eventually managed to get the hang of everything, controlling his strength and passing the final test with flying colours.

"YES!" Foggy whooped, dropping Danny on the ground and high-fiving Luke, "Alright! Let's go! Time for me to be a hero!"

"Yeah, come on Luke." Jessica flung her arm over Foggy's shoulders, "Let's go looking for a little trouble."

Luke was silent for a moment, before turning to Frank. "What do you- oh, why am I bothering to ask you. Alright, let's go and see what the scum of Hells' Kitchen have to offer us."

….

"We'll find something." Danny reassured Foggy, "Jessica or Frank always tend to find a fight seconds after walking out of the door."

"Hey!"

"Maybe I should pick a superhero name." Foggy mused, "Something to announce myself as."

"Foggy is strange enough." Jessica muttered, as they passed an alleyway, where Foggy heard a strange noise.

It sounded like someone swearing.

Darting away from the main group, Foggy headed into the alleyway, frowning when he realised that the cursing (which was steadily getting louder) was coming from around the corner. Peering around the corner, he frowned at the sight of a large, bald man pinning a younger man against the wall.

A younger man who was desperately clinging onto a stick, wearing red glasses.

"What's the rush Matty?" The large man chuckled, "I thought we could have a little fun?"

The smile disappeared from the bald man's face, when the white stick hit him hard in the head, causing him to stumble back in shock as the younger man tried to get away. As the younger man, Matty, tried to get away, it was all too obvious that there was something wrong.

Blind.

This bald bastard was attacking a blind man.

Foggy didn't feel anger often, considering himself to be a laid-back kind of guy, but when he saw the bald man grab the blind one and slam him up against the wall, he saw red.

"Hey! Back the fuck up!"

The larger man twisted around to face him, a sneer on his face, "Piss off… this is none of your business."

The blind man seemed to agree with the sentiment, continuing to struggle. "Don't worry!" He called out, "I can handle it!"

"But… you- "Foggy cut himself off quickly, not wanting to point out the man's blindness.

He knew he was blind, there was no point in pointing it out.

Before Foggy could even think about finishing the sentence in a politer way, the bald man suddenly lunged for him and punched him in the face, only to take a step back when Foggy barely flinched at the hit.

"Hey!" Foggy frowned, one hand going to the cheek that was hit, "What the hell was that for?!"

"Hit him back!" Jessica hissed behind him, as the rest of the Defenders hung back.

"Oh… right."

Foggy punched the man back, sending the bald man flying into the opposite wall. With the other man stunned, Foggy turned his attention to the blind man, Matty, scanning him from head to toe to make sure that he was alright.

"That sounded impressive." Matty stated, a small smile on his face, "But really, I could have handled that."

"It really didn't- " Foggy was cut off as there was a growl from the right, indicating that the bald man had decided that he wanted to go another around.

"O come on!" Foggy groaned, bracing himself.

If his fighting was a little showier than usual, then no-one had to know…. Of course, Jessica would probably tease him for it. Needless to say, the fight didn't last long, and the larger man fell to the ground in an unconscious slump.

"Yes!" Foggy pumped his fist into the air.

As the others all crowded around him, his attention turned to the young man leaning against the wall, clutching his stick in his hands.

"Are you alright?" He broke free of the crowd and made his way over to the other man, "I could help you home Mister- "

"Murdoch. Matthew Murdoch." Matthew smiled, "And thank you, but I'll be alright."

"Murdoch… like the blind kind who got his peepers knocked out saving that old man?"

Matthew burst out into laughter, the smile lighting up his entire face, "They didn't get knocked out!"

For a moment, there was an uncomfortable silence, before Foggy nervously cleared his throat.

"So… what did he want?" He gestured to the unconscious man on the ground.

"I'm not sure." Matt shrugged, "Probably just saw me as an easy target."

"Well… maybe we should help you home." Foggy said earnestly, "Just in case."

"I promise, I'll be fine." Matt chuckled, tapping his stick along the ground, "If you could point me in the direction of the exit?"

"Y-Yeah…. Turn to the right a little and just… walk." Foggy flushed at his awkward directions.

"Thank you." Matt waved in his general direction, before moving to leave.

Once he was sure that Matt was out of earshot, Foggy sighed happily. "He was… he was really something."

"Yeah…" Jessica muttered, "… a distraction. Come on, you want to be a hero, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."


	4. Chapter 4

Listening as Foggy and his friends walked away, Matt couldn't help but smirk, only to remember what he had to do next.

Meetings.

He hated meetings.

Walking into the cold, corporate building, he allowed himself to be led up to the top floor.

"Mister Murdock." Rosalind Sharpe practically cooed, "You're a little late."

"I apologise…. I ran into a little trouble."

"Hmmm, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, especially in this city." She narrowed her eyes at him, "You seem to have had a miraculous escape though."

"Ah, a very nice young man helped me."

"Oh?"

"Hmmm… Foggy, I think he called himself."

Matt frowned when he heard Rosalind's heartbeat speed up slightly.

"… I beg your pardon?" She whispered, "What was that name again?"

"Ummm, Foggy? A nickname, I assume…. Very nice young man."

Yep, her heartbeat was definitely speeding up.

Something was wrong here.

…

"How does one city have so many problems?" Luke sighed, as they walked through the streets.

"The Avengers attract them." Danny explained, "Why pass up the opportunity to try and beat the World's Greatest Heroes?"

Narrowly avoiding an 'end of the world' preacher, Jessica shrugged, "You'd think they'd learn from past experiences." She glanced around, "What we need, is a minor catastrophe… one small enough for the Avengers to ignore."

"Do the Avengers really ignore minor things?"

"We still have a crime rate, don't we?"

….

"It's too quiet." Frank growled, "Not even a bank robbery."

The group were standing on the sidewalk, people giving them a wide berth. Knowing that they would probably be there a while, Foggy headed into the nearest alleyway, resting his back against the wall and sliding to a seated position.

"Hey…"

He glanced up at Jessica, who rolled her eyes.

"… Stop moping around, you'll get a chance to prove yourself." She shrugged, "Nobody ever stays quiet in this city for long."

"I guess, but- "

And then the sound of screaming cut them off, as people started running down the street, clearly trying to get away from something.

"What the hell- " Jessica moved to join the others, who were trying to avoid being trampled. Foggy was about to follow them, only to spot a familiar figure getting caught up in the stampede.

"Matt! Matt!" He cried out, reaching out to grab the blind-man's wrist, pulling him to freedom, "What's going on?"

"Foggy?" Matt didn't seem overly panicked, if a little stunned to suddenly be grabbed like that.

"What's happened?"

"A building collapsed a couple of blocks away." Matt explained, "It sounds like there might be some children trapped, but everyone's too worried about it being another alien invasion."

"Perfect opportunity." Jessica made her way over, "Children trapped in a collapsed building."

"I don't think- are you actually saying this is a good thing?" Matt frowned as Foggy moved to follow his friends, rushing towards the scene of the accident… still holding onto him.

….

They reached the scene in record time, where a crowd was already gathering. It seemed like the fear of possible invasion was over, and now morbid curiosity and the crying of children seemed to overtake everything else.

"Here." Foggy led Matt over to a relatively deserted area, seating him on the bench, "Just… wait here, please?"

"I- "

But Foggy was gone before he could finish, making his way over to where the children were trapped, a large beam of wood preventing them from leaving. He knelt near the gap, keeping his eyes on the two children, "Everything is going to be alright, I promise."

"Help! Help!"

Foggy gripped the beam, gritting his teeth as he started to lift it into the air, eventually raising it high above his head.

"Go on, get out of there!"

The children raced out as the crowd begrudgingly started to clap.

"Jeepers Mister, you're really strong!" exclaimed one of the kids.

"Just… be more careful next time, okay?"

"We will!"

As he carefully placed the beam down, Foggy failed to notice how the children didn't go rushing off to their parents or anything… in fact, they just seemed to disappear.

From a nearby office building, a woman watched the scene with interest.

Unaware of this, Foggy strode over to the others and beamed, "One heroic duty done!"

"Yes, yes, well done." Jessica rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on! Don't you hear the people clapping?"

Before any of them could say anything in reply, there was a long, loud growl that came from the wreckage.

"That… doesn't sound like applause."


End file.
